“Medical students across the country have been pulled out of the hospitals to ensure that only essential health care workers remain.
I understood the reasoning behind this decision, but like many of my colleagues, I didn’t want to be on the sidelines.
Medical students don’t have the expertise to serve alongside physicians and other front-line healthcare workers, but many of us started thinking of other ways we could support them. Some of my peers are volunteering to do groceries for physicians, supporting seniors, organizing PPE drives, and more.
The shortage of PPE was a glaring gap. Speaking to hospitals and healthcare facilities across the province, I recognized that there was a tremendous lag that persisted – despite government and industry ramping up their efforts. I learned about the possibility of 3D printed PPE as a way to bridge this gap. We quickly established a team and began to harness a network of printers across the country.
We received overwhelming support from people as far out as Vancouver to Quebec City, where a 12-year old boy who received a 3D printer for his birthday insisted that he wanted to help us.
Today we’ve produced over 10,000 3D printed face shields and are still hard at work. I’m humbled to be part of such a talented and selfless team, and to have played a small role in supporting our front-line healthcare workers in the battle against this unprecedented pandemic.”
The comments section is closed.